Mechanical toy



March 3, 1931. G. R'ovlRosA MECHANICAL TOY Filed Aug. 10, 1928 Patented Mar. 3, 1931 GUILLERMO ROVIROSA,

or BARCELONA, SPAIN Y MECHANICAL TOY Application led August 10, 1928, Serial No. 298,731, and in Spain August v19, 17927.

The invention consists'v a toy the mechanism of which is intended to carry out cer` tain movements analogous to those made by n the vast majority of quadrupeds when walking.

Thepresent invention relates to toys imitative lof any quadruped and in which leg movements simulating the natural leg move ments of the quadruped are reproduced with realism when the toy moves or is moved over a suitable surface.

According to the present invention, the

legl portions of a toy of this kind are mounted upon cranks at the oppositev extremities yof front and rear. axles extending transversely `of a bodyjportion representative of the body of the quadruped and are 'each operatively connected also with a further crank ,mounted on the body portion at a point abovek the adjacent axle and rearwardly of the adjacent axle by an amount in inverse proportion to the step to be taken by the leg portions.

The movement is obtained when the toy is drawn by a string or other similar device so that it tends to be dragged, or by vproducing by any means a rotary movement of the rotating parts described hereunder.

In order that the invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into effect reference may now be had to the accompanying drawings illustrating the invention by way of example and in which Fig. 1 is a sectional plan;

Fig. 2 is a side view;

Fig. 3 is a transverse section;

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic or schematic representation of the movement; and

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section of the toy.

In giving a description of the toy, two parts of the latter must be distinguished, viz. the body, and the legs and feet.

The body constitutes the frame sustaining and protecting the mechanism. The legs are the movable parts, which are coupled to the mechanism and, upon moving, give the impression of the real movement as Ymade by live quadrupeds when walking.

rlhe body may be made of any material (right angle) the one .that lends itself thereto, such as metal stampings, wood, papiermch, rags, etc., the same i being adapted tothe formof the Vanimal to be imitated, the only requisites being that it should be sufficiently hollow inside to house 5,5 the'mechanism and support thereof and that where the four legs are joined to the trunk, the latter should present a plane surface (two on each side), ythe surfaces of one and the same side being situated on the same plane; and the surfaces on opposite sides, on parallel planes. These lateral plane surfaces of the trunlr are to be sufficiently large to aord free play to the legs when they move and On each of these four` plane surfaces there are two circular holes or openings. The lower opening houses a metal axle 1,Lwhich pro-l jects from either side of the trunk. 4TheseV axles, viz. the front and rear or hind one,

are provided in their middle, in the inside of eccentrics set at to the other, all foury being of the same eccentricity or throw. The eccentriosv of the front axle arel joined to those of the hind axle by two connecting rods 3, whereby the synchronous movement of both l axles is assured. The throw or degree of eccentricity anddimensions of these parts (except the connecting rods) are unspecified, as ,80 the only purpose they serve is to ensure that the rotative movement of the ,foreV or frontV and hind axles shall be uniform.- The same result might be secured by fitting the centre: of the axles with identical toothed wheels joined together by an endless chain; or bevel gears might be used, connecting the two axles by a longitudinal shaft. The axles 1, at their ends outside the trunk, are fitted with cranks. The cranks situate at the ends of one and the same axle are set at an angle of the one to the other, i. e.. they are diametrically opposed. The cranks situate on one 'and thesame side of the trunk are also set at angles of 180, or diametrically opposed one to another. Thus the rotation of any one of the cranks synchroniz'es with that of the .crank ofthe other axle situate on the opposite side.' vThe eccentricity of these cranks mayvary with the ,S?? Fh@ toy and the trunk, with two their size is what mainly influences the height to which the feet are raised from the ground at the moment of advancing.

The circular openings 2 are situate behind and above the line joining the axles l at a height approximately equal to double the eccentricity of the cranks described above. rIhre distance between the openings 2 is the saine as the distance between th-e axles 1. At each of the four openings 2 an independent crank is lodged, and the eccentricity of all these cranks is practically equal todouble thatV of.

the cranks l.

The distance between the axlesrl and the cranks 2 may be fixed as desired, it being understood that the less this distance is the larger is the step taken by the toy animal, and vice-versa.

rllhe legs are to be of wood, cork agglomerate, or other suitable material, of sufficient thickness to ensure that, on being coupled to the cranks, they are rmly held by the cranks l, which latter are fitted at the end with pins or Washers or are burred over or otherwise formed, toY prevent the legs slipping off.

The legs may be of any shape, adapted to those of the animal that is imitated, but three essentialpoints have to be located on them, viz. a the point of connection of the leg with the crank l; b the point of connection of the leg with the crank 2; and c the point of support on the ground. These three points determine the verticies of an isosceles triangle, the-base ofwhich is ab. The height may be greater or less, according to the length of the legs of thev animal to be imitated. The dis? tance a?) is equal to the distance between the the horizontal projections ofthe axles l and openings `2, plus the eccentricity of the` crank 1.

The working will be understood by a considerationmerelyof the four cranksl (cf. the

schematic drawing) the four cranks 2; andv the four trianglesahc. Let a moment be sup-4 posed when all-four legs rest on the ground or surface. When movement is produced by drawing the toy, owing to the natural adherence, of the points of suppo-rt 0 on the ground orsurface, all the legs will tend to cause the cranksv l to rotate in the direction of the arrows shown on the schematic drawing. In their'movement the points c follow the trajectory shown on the drawing. Thus, when the movementbegins, the toy at once only rests on the near fore, and off hind, leg and on the point by which it is drawn; whilst the two other legs move forward, without resting on the grounduntil, on reaching theend of their progression they descend sufficiently, whilst theothers rise, for all four legs to rest on the ground simultaneously; and the movement continues thus indefinitely. Naturally in the toys the legsd-o not rest on a point, buty on arsurface imitating the sole of the foot. The, vertex'cof the isosceles triangle abc will then be at the rearmost part, or heel, of that surface. This will even facilitate movement, as thereby when all four feet are on the ground, a (see drawing) is a little further advanced in the direction of the arrow.

It will be readily understood that if by any mechanical means the cranks l are made to rotate in .the direction of the arrow, the toy als@ will advance, though its progress will not be so sure as if it were drawn, as the point ofsupport by which it is drawn will then be lacking.V

Having in the above suificiently described my invention and the manner in which it is to be performed,`what I seek to have protected by patent as being of my own invention are the following claims:

l. A toy formed so as to represent any natural quadruped'comprising a body portion and leg portions, frontand rear axles extending transversely of said body portion, cranks at the opposite extremities of said front and rear axles, saidv leg portions being mounted on said cranks, further cranks mounted one on each side of the body portion at a point above each axle and rearwardlythereof, each of said leg portions being operatively connected to one of said further cranks whereby the leg movements of the natural quadruped are imitated when the toy is moved over a suitable surface.

2.,. A toy as claimed in claim 1 in which the throw of said further cranks is equal approx imately to twice theV throw of the cranks at.

the extremities ofthe axles and each of said cranks is mounted upon the body portion above the adjacent axle by an amount equal to its throw.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature.

GUILLERMO ROVIROSA. 

